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Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette Comparisons (Naked, Naked 2, Naked 3)

9:00 AM

Hey guys! I'm sure a few of you are wondering with this new Urban Decay Naked 3 palette release if it's a worthwhile purchase. As this is their third in the Naked series, I feel like it's pretty important to see how this one compares to the previously released Naked and Naked 2 palettes.

Right off the bat you can see that the Naked 3 has an overall rose gold theme with 12 eyeshadows in a gorgeous, wave-textured tin case.

Each palette has 12 shadows generally flowing from light to dark. The current selling palettes all come with a synthetic eyeshadow brush (Naked is single-ended while 2 and 3 include dual-ended brushes).

Generally speaking, Naked has mostly warm neutrals, Naked 2 is in the neutral-to-taupe range with more drastic light and dark shadows, and Naked 3 is distinctly more pink with a lot of mid-to-light shades. Naked 3 in particular has no copycat shadows in any other collection, which is nice for the eyeshadow collector.

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So should you buy Naked 3 if you already have 1 or 2?
I personally feel that Naked 3 is the most different from the previous Nakeds and neither of the other palettes have significantly overlapping shades with this one. In contrast, I do feel that Naked 1 looks most flattering on warm, yellow-undertoned skin while Naked 2 looks most flattering on cool-to-neutral skintones and you don't necessarily need both 1 & 2. To me, Naked 3 is a new range of everyday wearable shades that would be "naked" only on pinker-skinned gals but still beautiful and office-appropriate for everyone else.

Dupes?

- There are no repeat shades in Naked 3.
- The highlight shade (#1) is matte and light which is fantastic in use. (N1 is shimmery, N2 is darker)
- The darkest shade (#12) is not close to anything in the other Nakeds. (N1 is charcoal, N2 is matte black)
- Trick (#6) is similar to Chopper (N2) and Toasted (N1) but less buttery and pinker.
- Factory (#9) is the lighter, pink-overtone cousin to Busted (N2) and Hustle (N1).

All in all, no real dupes here.

Final Thoughts

I'm personally a sucker for rose gold and found it to be really pretty on my skin. The shades don't read as too cool like some taupes may do and the pinky matte shadow (Limit) works great as an transition color in this shade range.

My one gripe is that I wish Naked 3 had another light satin color to pop on the lid like Half Baked (Naked 1 & 2), Sin (Naked 1), or Verve (Naked 2). Dust (glittery light pink) seems like it would be good but it isn't highly pigmented and applies a bit crumbly with fallout due to the high amount of glitter. Many of the shadows stay in the medium range which is a little disappointing for someone with a medium skintone where they blend in too much.

Still, it is a beautiful palette and a great value at $52. There are no shades too close to Naked 1 or 2 so if you already have one of those then this palette will complement those colors nicely. If you are brand new to the Naked line I would recommend getting Naked 1 or 2 first before diving into 3 unless you know you love and wear pinks more than any other neutral.

For me, 2 shades (#5 & #6) are TOO medium toned. Shadow #3 shows up but I wish it were lighter and shadow #4 blends in but that's good since it's matte and a good transitional blending shadow. Hope that helps!

thanks! that helps. i believe i'm only 1 shade lighter than you (i wear MUFE HD in 120) so it sounds like including the crumbling #2 dust, there's 4 shades that's not lovable. might have to sit this one out...

It can depend on the coolness of the pink. Warm, rosy-gold pinks can make all skintones look glowier, but cooler pinks near the eyes can have the potential to look sickly. Naked 3 has warmer pinks and won't pull more pink out.

Thank you so much for the gorgeous review Jen! The pinks look so lovely but I doubt they'll show up well on my medium skin... I'm probably a shade or two darker than you and I feel like the colors already barely showed on your arm :( can't wait for your tutorial though! These kind of pinks can make eyes look so sweet and gentle if one can pull it off. Sorry for a totally unrelated question, but what is a good tightlining product you would recommend? I've tried all the ones that people rave about like UD 24/7, MUF aqua eyes, bobbi brown, but they all transfer to my lower lid horribly and I'd look like a panda by midday > <

Hi Jen! I got naked basics months ago and I'm OBSESSED with it - I literally use them 5 days/wk. I really want to get a N1 or N2 - and somehow from the swatches I keep feeling I have the repeat color EVEN I'm sure there must be small difference here there. I kinda battle between N1 or N2...and fav N1 a little. Any suggestion? My skin tone is similar as yours.

I just got my N3 palette yesterday (eeeek)! I have a very fair complexion with cool/pink undertones. Strange (the leftmost color on N3) blends in with my skin exactly, to give you an idea of what I'm working with. I can confirm this as my long-awaited answer to the majority of the shades in N1 being too warm for my skin tone. The N2 wasn't quite right for me either; a friend of mine with a fair but warm skin color swears by this one, though. I am very satisfied with my purchase!

And just a tip for those high-fallout glittery shadows: apply wet. Dip your shadow brush in a bit of water, pick up your color and go!

Hai Jen I would like to tell you that you are my inspiration. My name is Jean ^-^, from Indonesia *sorry if i have bad english*. I found your youTube channel recently, and i love it. I am not really know about beauty and make up, but i know how to do simple make up for myself. But I learn a lot from you especially about beauty brand. *I never know about urban decay before*.

So in 1 month you inspire me to buy naked, naked 2, naked basic, UD eyehadow primer potion, UD cannonball and i will find a way to buy naked 3. I also decide to write a blog http://pinkbeautyheart.blogspot.com/ , i hope you can read my first post there cause i mention about you.I loved beauty things but i never confident with my skill. And your channel teach me a lot.

I just want to said keep doing what you do now, cause you might don't know, but you inspire many girls to be more confident.

kmcosmetics.net has the naked 3 in stock! Last week i tried to buy one on urban decays website but ofcourse it was sold out and the people on ebay selling them for over 100 is crazy! got my palette today and it is GORGEOUS!

Hi Jen! Love your blog and youtube channel! Please please please upload a tutorail using this palette!! I loved my naked 1 but I have puffy monolids and yellow undertone, so I am super uncertain about whether I should get this palette.

Hi Jen,As someone who is on a budget and knows next to nothing about makeup (I wear mascara only), would you recommend the Naked Basics palette or the first Naked palette? I'm just looking to do a basic every day eye makeup that is simple and easy.Thank you for all of your makeup tutorials and I look forward to seeing more! Love everything you do here on your website!

Honestly you could go either way but my recommendation would be to splurge on the full Naked palette because there will never be anything missing for any neutral look you may want to do over the next few years. Naked basics will cover you for now but mattes are more difficult to work with in general and there isn't as much range in what you can do. Hope that helps! :)

Hi Jen, I'm obsessed with urban decay makeup (but I can't buy it very often - I'm a student!) and I was just wondering whether the naked 1 or 2 palette is the best all rounder for neutral shades? I've got medium-olive skin and I want to be able to do simple eye make up for starting work. Basically just want to get a really good value palette that I can wear all the time! Thank you so much for all your reviews and tutorials! x

Hey hun, this person has totally copied your article word for word.. thought you should know. Im sure she has copied other articles too.http://spoiledpretty.com/2014/02/which-urban-decay-naked-palette-is-for-you/#comment-129473

also, great article by the way :) I bought naked3 and totally glad i did! x

Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention! The editor of the blog has already contacted me and apologized because it was a contributing writer who plagiarized. She's removed the post. Really refreshing that she reached out actually, since most of these cases sadly just happen guilt-free.

Hey girl, I was just googeling for some Naked swatches, because I found this dupe and I found out that this UK ebay seller actually uses your swatch pictures for selling his own palette! http://www.ebay.de/itm/UK-12-Colors-Sexy-Make-Up-Eye-Shadow-Halloween-Palette-Brush-Nude-Mini-Cosmetic-/361415130845?var=&hash=item5426053edd:m:mNKYeLL6ozaZtmOyyUfkogg

Great post btw :) The swatches were so helpful! I`d love to own the naked 1 :)

About me

Hi, I'm Jen! I've been blogging and making youtube videos since 2008 and have loved encouraging others to feel beautiful in their own skin ever since. I hope you enjoy my beauty tips and reviews, style inspiration, and a bit of my life as a wife and mother!